review – Page 3

I had a spare moment last night so I watched “When You’re Strange“, a new film about the Doors. Well… about Jim Morrison (no matter how much it stresses it isn’t).

So, before I go any further, this one’s quite simple. All fans of the Doors have to watch this film. There you go… there’s your review.

For the rest of you it may not be quite such a straightforward decision. This is how it is… I’m a huge fan. Being a huge fan means there’s stuff in this film that will astonish. I had never seen Jim’s ‘movies’ before and much of this film is taken from the ‘road movies’. Therefore you’re getting to see images of Jim Morrison that you may never have seen before. It’s one of those instances where it’s actually quite strange seeing such an iconic figure actually ‘moving around’ – In footage that isn’t from the Hollywood Bowl etc. This is footage of him actually walking/driving around. Doesn’t sound like much of a revelation? Well, believe me, it actually is!

The film starts off brilliantly. Beautifully you might say. I won’t spoil it too much… but the way the very beginning has been edited is perfect. Jim driving along, listening to the reports of his own death on the car stereo. Just superb. So I sit back and think “wow, this is really going to be something”… and, well, it kind of is and it kind of isn’t.

For those of you who are less aux-fait with the Doors you might very well be better off watching the much derided Oliver Stone film. It is a far more enjoyable re-telling of the myth that became the Doors. Val Kilmer was excellent in my humble opinion… and although it showed Jim Morrison in a pretty angelic light, it still hangs together better as an “all you need to know” account of the Doors.

So, why doesn’t this ‘documentary’ work quite as well as it should? Mainly due to the horrendous script. At times it is jarringly bad! I can only hope that it is that way on purpose. But I have the horrible feeling that it really is just plain bad. A kind of antithesis of the Oliver Stone movie that I can only assume has been written that way to please the haters of that film. To dispel a lot of the ‘mystical’ elements and try to show Jim Morrison as a human being – towards the end a shambling alcoholic who went off the rails.

And, just to give a little extra polish to the awful script comes one of the worst narrations I have ever heard. Note to everyone – DO NOT GIVE JOHNNY DEPP A JOB AS NARRATOR EVER AGAIN!!! I cannot stress this enough. Talk about taking the soul from a film. He is a drag. He sounds bored… he probably was bored. I’m not even sure from watching the film whether Jonny Depp even likes the Doors?!? It really is that bad!

Anyway… ha ha! The good points! Hmmmm… look, for everything I’ve just said there are actually many good points. There’s the reminder of just how great the Doors were. The (brief) reminder of how great each individual was within the Doors. The footage of them behind the scenes and the carnage of some of those gigs. A reminder that even though I view the Doors as a bit of an art house band… in their time they were actually pretty much a pop act. And a reminder that Jim Morrison really was the most iconic rock singer of all time. He built the image of ROCK STAR that we see today. And… maybe most importantly… all by the age of 27. That most unlucky of ages for a lot of the rock stars of the past. 27.

This film is one that I’m glad was made and I’m glad I watched. It’s a piece of history.

Where do you start with a ‘review’ of Les Miserables?!? It has to be said that this show is a true epic work of art. Anyone who has read this site before will understand all too well how preoccupied I am with all things epic. I strive to produce the epic. Well… Les Miserables is about as epic as they come. Other words such as; grandiose… emotional… heart-wrenching… all-consuming… come across as clichés I suppose. But believe me… this is one hell of a show!

As Les Mis has been playing since 1985 then I would assume that most of you out there will have seen it by now. I was, unfortunately, very late to the party. I was only really converted to the cause a couple of years ago when my girlfriend played me the CD in the car. “Here we go…” I thought, “another musical” (she likes musicals!). But that was the end of the sarcasm. I was blown away by the sheer audacity of the piece. The complexity of the story. The beauty of the music and the clarity of the lyrics.

So, I bought her a DVD of the show for Christmas. I think it was the 10th Anniversary Concert at the Albert Hall. And then I was blown away all over again. Now… what I didn’t quite understand at first was that the DVD wasn’t actually the show. It was just the actors singing the songs from the show. I say ‘just’ – I thought the guy playing Jean Valjean was outstanding – but you get my drift? It wasn’t actually “the show” apparently. To see “the show” – I knew I was going to be in for a treat!

Now… I was taking my girlfriend to see Les Miserables. So of course all of my enjoyment had to be secondary to hers. Luckily she had a great time… and because of that I can now write about it as if it were just for me. 😉

Queens Theatre, London is a pretty, welcoming little theatre. It oozes history and just being there you feel the aura of ‘specialness to come’. I believe this theatre has played nothing but Les Mis for a few years now and – whether that is true or not – it shows!

Without giving too much away, and condensing the story to its essence, we have the tale of a convict pursued by a relentless policeman in revolutionary France. There are many important side-stories… but basically, we are experiencing the life story of Jean Valjean. When you see it for real it makes a lot more sense than just watching the DVD with the songs! I now understand the difference between ‘watching the songs in a theatre’, and ‘watching the actual show in a theatre’. The sets are awesome. Truly marvellous. Just to imagine the sheer work that must have to be put into every single night simply to construct and manoeuvre the backdrops. The huge set-pieces, the spectacle, the immaculate singing. The emotion. Definitely deserved the standing ovation!

The actor playing Jean Valjean was the standout… although that always seems to be the case with Les Mis (from my extremely limited experience). I also thought the guy playing the policeman Javert was outstanding. The comedy couple, the landlord and his wife were excellent. The only disappointments were some of the upper class/soldier characters, particularly Marius. It’s hard to invest much sympathy in a character so dripping wet!

The show is a bit of a slog. 3 hours. But it never drags. Every second seems well judged and well paced. This is the epitome of epic. The “something special” that I myself am striving for. I am nearing completion of a gargantuan piece of music that I am collaborating on with the American artist Bill Ryan. This piece of music is going to be somewhere in the region of 7 minutes or so. It will form part of the Eleventh Hour‘s debut album and I am hoping it will shape up to be the centre-piece of the whole show. It certainly has the potential… it’s only for Bill or I to drop the ball now and spoil it. 🙂 Ha ha! If I could just squeeze a fraction of the grandeur of Les Mis into the song then I will face 2011 as a happy man.

Anyway… in short… Les Miserables at the Queens Theatre, London is well worth a trip. Bloody outstanding. 10/10.

Category: review

When You’re Strange

Les Miserables at Queens Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, January 2011